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If the shoe fits, start a business

Study shows more than half of all new startups in Canada are run by part-time entrepreneurs who rely on family, savings

Peter Feeney dropped a career in film production to open a custom-made shoe operation in Cabbagetown. He's part of growing trend of entrepreneurs willing to leave steady pay cheque to start up their own business on family loans and personal savings.
KEITH BEATY/Toronto Star (Keith Beaty / Toronto Star)

Peter Feeney has always loved shoes, so being the sole proprietor of a bespoke footwear shop in downtown Toronto just seems like a natural fit.

But like many Canadian entrepreneurs, his path was rocky and he stumbled a fair bit along the way.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” says the 33-year-old cobbler, who happily works in his Cabbagetown basement shop making some pretty stylish kicks.

With financial help from his parents and credit cards, it took four years to build the business to the point where he now works at it full-time, and he figures it will take another five years before he’s back in the black.

His story mirrors a recent Intuit study that shows that more than half (53 per cent) of all new startups in Canada are run by part-time entrepreneurs.

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And it says one third of them aren’t expecting to become millionaires off the bat. The tax preparation firm’s study found that 35 per cent of these self-starters would be willing to quit their day jobs and go full-time if they could make just $30,000 per year.

The majority (59 per cent) of new startups start out with nothing but personal savings – some as little as $5,000 – while only 10 per cent borrow money from a financial institution or receive government funding, the report says. It also found new ventures are three times as likely to be turned down for a loan as mature businesses.

“If it wasn’t for my parents and my wife, I would have bailed a long time ago,” notes Feeney.

“This is the year it’s finally starting to work. It’s full-on,” says Feeney, who had to keep working in his original field in the film industry as his new shoe business got off the ground.

Lean, solo-run businesses like his represent a big chunk of the economy, accounting for 1.3 million of the 2.4 million total businesses in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

The Intuit study says 65 per cent of startups are not in tech as most might expect. Less than half have at least one employee and the vast majority (74 per cent) sell services, while 23 per cent sell goods and 3 per cent are not-for-profit, it says.

Getting started isn’t easy.

After much soul searching, Feeney left a steady career in film production and audio editing in Toronto in 2006 and relocated to Florence, Italy, known as the epicenter of custom, high-quality shoemaking.

He learned to speak the language and did an apprenticeship under a wise and experienced 84-year-old shoemaker, and thus began the first steps of an entirely new career path.

“Until I went there, I didn’t know that’s what I really wanted to do,” Feeney recalls.

Although looking back, his love affair with shoes really began at an early age.

“Obviously as a kid in the early 90s, sneakers were my thing – Adidas Superstars, Jordans, Airwalks,” he says.

You won’t find any sneakers in his high-end Sherbourne St. workshop, where discerning clientele seek him out for his custom-made footwear that cost about $1,000 a pop due to his carefully developed skills in the art of bespoke shoe design and construction.

Feeney usually does a one-hour consultation with a client to take measurements and to go through the variety of textures, materials and colours he then uses to create a unique pair that he says cannot be mass produced.

About 40 hours of labour goes into the one-of-a-kind product, which if cared for properly can last a lifetime, he notes.

“It’s the last thing you’d want to do – sell a product that’s very expensive, time-consuming and has a six-month waiting list,” says Feeney.

“It’s very difficult, what I’m doing. It’s a very specific market and very niche product. It’s a very tough sell in this city,” he notes.

Most of his clientele are men, but he can make women’s shoes on request – though heels aren’t his favourite, he jokes.

After all the work he’s put into launching his venture, Feeney has some advice for budding entrepreneurs.

“Make sure you’re choosing something you’re really passionate about because you’ll be spending all your time on it, even when you don’t want to do it,” he says.

“It can’t just be a trend or a fad.”

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